Oil Water Separator Design

Oil water separator design is not very complex in theory. Its simple design is actually part of the power of these machines that can clean water of various materials including oil in a very efficient amount of time. Such productivity is not only good for the business of many different facilities, it is also extremely safe for the environment and people who are around such wastewater that includes oil and other debris that can be unhealthy or dangerous. Additionally, these machines are often required by law as well at some work sites.

The basic setup of any of these machines, whether large, small, portable, or permanent, is to rest the water in order to allow the water to separate from the materials that are suspended within it. This can be not only oil, but other harmful industrial substances as well. This is caused by a basic physical principle, which demonstrates that liquids of different viscosities and weights will either float on top of each other (as with oil) or fall below each other (as with the debris).

Using this basic idea, a separator will allow a large amount of water to rest so that this process can occur. From here the machine will skim the oil off the top and use a pump to pull the rest of the material from the bottom. Theoretically, the middle layer will be perfectly clean water that can then be returned to the local water system or sent to the appropriate sewer facility for further processing. These machines can also feature design additions that speed up this process as well as additional filters that will make sure any exiting water is environmentally sound.